PhD Proposal (Country of Origin and Buying Intention of Consumers)

Influence of Country
of Origin on Buying Intention of Consumers: A Study of Pakistan

In
social sciences, the concepts of Branded products and Country of Origin (COO) have
been studied extensively. In literature, it is revealed in progress and
movement of studies related to these concepts. The previous studies presented
some limitations and suggested some areas future researchers. The restricted
geographical range is one of the limitations among these limitations, as mostly
studies related to Country of Origin have been conducted in developed
countries. It is also found that most of studies have examined effect of
durable goods. The literature related to food product studies is scarce to the
effect of COO on consumer perception or buying intention.Moreover, the measurement scale used previous
studies lack adequate assessment of validity and reliability. The adapted
scales for COO, brand parity and branded products will be developed. The
process of scale adaption will be conducted by using qualitative approach. An
attempt will be made to address the limitations of previous studies which will
examine how Pakistanis, as Muslim consumers, use Country of Origin and branded
products in their buying intention decisions. This study will also examine that
how the ethnocentrism, socioeconomic characteristics and perceptions of
Pakistani consumers affect Country of Origin and branded products. A
complementary qualitative and quantitative approach will be used in this study
that will strengthen the validity and reliability of research findings. The use
of both approaches will be proven as prudent decision. The qualitative approach
will be used to gain in-depth understanding of dimensions and theoretical concepts
of research to explore the variables in Pakistani context. The advance level of
statistical techniques will be used which includes correlation, regression,
ANOVA and descriptive statistics. The N-Vivo software will be used to conduct
thematic analysis. The findings of study will be used to determine the
importance of dimensions of COO and branded products in influencing buying
decision. This study will contribute to existing literature in
conceptualization and methodological perspectives.